The court wrote an opinion that stated the cities, which include Orlando and Aventura, had no legal authority to issue any tickets. Instead, the Court said, that responsibility falls on the state which today issues red-light tickets.

The class-action lawsuit, which includes hundreds of thousands of people, could mean cash refunds for drivers who were ticketed for running red lights between 2008 and July of 2010.

“This is a landmark case regarding cities overstepping their authority," trial attorney David Kerner said. "What we learned today from the Supreme Court is that what the city did in collecting that money is wrong. The bottom line is it's now time to return those funds, the millions of dollars, to the people.”

It’s unclear how many people will get a refund. Some cities, like West Palm Beach and Juno Beach, previously settled lawsuits against them, issuing refunds of about $30.